Lutherans’ Easter sunrise service on the River Walk a...

1of7Martha Noblett, music director at Grace Lutheran Church, conducts members of combined choirs during a rehearsal at St. John’s Lutheran Church.Photo: Billy Calzada /San Antonio Express-News

2of7Martha Noblett, music director at Grace Lutheran Church, conducts members of combined choirs during a rehearsal at St. Johns Lutheran Church, 502 E Nueva St., on Wednesday, March 23, 2016. The combined choirs of several Lutheran churches in San Antonio will participate in an Easter sunrise service at the Arneson River Theatre.Photo: Billy Calzada, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

3of7Ken Turner, right, music director at St. Johns Lutheran Church, joins others in a combined Luterhan choir for rehearsal on Wednesday, March 23, 2016, for their participation in the Easter sunrise service to be held at the Arneson River Theatre.Photo: Billy Calzada, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

4of7Ken Turner, right, music director at St. Johns Lutheran Church, joins others in rehearsal on Wednesday, March 23, 2016, for their participation in the Easter sunrise service to be held at the Arneson River Theatre.Photo: Billy Calzada, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

5of7Martha Noblett, music director at Grace Lutheran Church, conducts members of combined choirs during a rehearsal at St. Johns Lutheran Church, 502 E Nueva St., on Wednesday, March 23, 2016. The combined choirs of several Lutheran churches in San Antonio will participate in an Easter sunrise service at the Arneson River Theatre.Photo: Billy Calzada, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

6of7Felipa Mendez and others rehearse at St. Johns Lutheran Church, 502 E Nueva St., on Wednesday, March 23, 2016. The combined choirs of several Lutheran churches in San Antonio will participate in an Easter sunrise service at the Arneson River Theatre.Photo: Billy Calzada, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

7of7Ana Isabel Vidal (left) and Felipa Mendez rehearse as Martha Noblett conducts at St. John’s Lutheran Church. They’re part of choirs that will be central to an Easter service at the Arneson River Theatre.Photo: Billy Calzada / San Antonio Express-News

Congregants from six San Antonio Lutheran churches will be up well before dawn Easter Sunday to prepare for the holiest of Christian holidays with one of the city’s most unusual services — along the banks of the River Walk.

Before the 7 a.m. start time, Christians of all denominations will begin filling up the spaces at the Arneson River Theatre, which will serve as their sanctuary.

The service is a gift to San Antonio as well as “a unique environment in which to experience the resurrection of Christ,” said the Rev. Skip Courter of the nearby St. John’s Lutheran Church, which first organized the service almost 40 years ago.

“The San Antonio River, as it winds its way through downtown, is a true source of life for San Antonio and a focal point for our history as well as our future,” he said. “The same can be said about the resurrection of Christ, because it is the focal point of the Christian celebration of Easter and Christ is the focal point in our lives.”

Along with St. John’s, five other local Lutheran congregations are involved in the service: Grace, House of Prayer, MacArthur Park, Abiding Presence and Shepherd King Lutheran churches.

Roughly half of those who attend the service are Lutherans, a quarter are Christians from other denominations and the rest are tourists who stumble upon the service on their morning walks, Courter said. It’s a combination that makes for good memories.

“One year, we had a host of people who joined us from their balcony,” he said of a nearby hotel. “It was obvious they had just woken up. So, a number of people worshipped with us in their pajamas, leaning over the balcony of their hotel room.”

Courter forgot his Bible another year. “So, I got up to read the lesson and asked if anyone had brought a Bible,” he said. “There was a guy from Fort Sam, an Army guy, and he said, ‘Yeah, I got one.’ He ran across the bridge and brought me his Bible.”

All San Antonians are welcome to attend and receive communion, the pastor said. The service will be followed by a free breakfast.

The first Lutheran Easter service on the River Walk was held by St. John’s in 1978.

Courter said the six churches take great pride in their music programs. A combined 100-member choir, which will be accompanied by a praise band, will be central to the outdoor experience. For months, the six choirs have been practicing music that was chosen right after Christmas, and they held a final joint rehearsal Wednesday night.

Each of the congregations will serve breakfast at their respective churches, but St. John’s on Nueva Street — because it’s just across from La Villita — expects a big turnout.

“It’s all free,” Courter said. “Just walk across the street, and you will leave full.”

Elaine Ayala has been in the newspaper business for 33 years as a reporter, editor, blogger and columnist. She has worked at six metropolitan dailies, including the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, the Arizona Daily Star, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, the Austin American-Statesman and the El Paso Times

She has worked at the San Antonio Express-News for 16 years. Her Metro column runs on Monday in the Express-News and in its bilingual weekly Conexión. She writes a Latino Life blog about "Latino arts, politics y mas" on MySanAntonio.com. Her minority affairs beat focuses on diversity and ethnic communities.

The San Antonio native graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1979.

Ayala has been involved in several journalism organizations throughout her career, most focused on increasing the number of minorities and women in the U.S. newsroom and raising money for scholarships for students pursuing careers in the media.

She speaks at area schools and community organizations and has served as a mistress of ceremonies for several galas and events. In addition to her newspaper work, she has written for several publications, including Latino magazine, Latino Future magazine, the National Catholic Reporter and a couple of now-defunct magazines.